Trouble with Embedding Fonts

[C._Hanna@adobeforums.com]

I'm having trouble with embedding fonts. I'm using PressReady and Adobe Acrobat 4 with Create Adobe PDF and when I use the screen and print settings, fonts do not seem to be embedding. With the press setting, the fonts do seem to embed, but this makes very large files.

If the font isn't active in my system when I open the resulting PDF, then the Adobe substitution fonts are used. In the postscript options in the print dialogue box, ALL fonts are specified for inclusion with all three settings. So what am I doing wrong here? Help!

[MikeKazlow@adobeforums.com]

The screen setting does not embed fonts, hence the files are smaller. If
you want smaller files when you embed fonts you need to set distiller to
use font subsets when less than 100% of the fonts is used, this will
create much smaller files. Additionally, when using true type fonts you
need to embed the fonts directly into the postscript file being
distilled. This can be done in the print dialog box.

Mike

[C._Hanna@adobeforums.com]

Hi Mike,

So let me get this right, ALL the screen PDFs I've generated have been subject to font substitution at delivery? What about the "Print" setting?

Don't use true type, so that not an issue.

Cheryl

[Aandi_Inston@adobeforums.com]

The settings do vary with the version of Distiller, but my
recollection is that PressReady is Distiller 4. I think screen in
that version didn't embed. But you can check the settings yourself
(and adjust them!)

Aandi Inston

[C._Hanna@adobeforums.com]

Really, the whole PDF thing is defeating me. In addition to this font embedding problem, color in the PDFs is way off. For a while they were good, then they went wocky for no reason I can ferret out. I've reinstalled Acrobat and PressReady both from scratch twice, no improvement. Today I've been wondering, is there an incompatibility between ColorSync 3 and the older distiller and older Quark? Maybe I should try downgrading to ColorSync 2.6.

Whew...

[Aandi_Inston@adobeforums.com]

Look at the Distiller settings you are using; you seem to be avoiding
this, or am I mistaken? The Distiller settings are very relevant and
important, and also affect colour as well as fonts, quality, file
size... the built in names like "Screen", "Print" etc. are just a
simple starting point, none is necessarily ideal.

Acrobat does not use ColorSync, but Quark might.

Aandi Inston

[C._Hanna@adobeforums.com]

Aandi, no, you're not mistaken. I've been using Create Adobe PDF with PressReady, which doesn't include the full Distiller, so you don't have access to the settings in the same way. I'd hoped to avoid using Distiller because it is very slow on my system and doesn't run the background--locking things up for 5 or 6 minutes per file, where Create Adobe PDF didn't have these problems.

However I took your advice, played with the Distiller color management setting and by choosing the same profiles I'd chosen in Quark color management, I now have a much closer color approximation. And the fonts are listed as "embedded subsets" and displaying properly even when the font isn't on the system.

Ideal, but now I have another problem. I'm working on a business card and every single PDF I make of it is 740 k. Using the stock settings, screen, print and press, there all the same size. And this is a very small file of course, so I'm really worried about what happens when I get to the big ones. I'm really wondering if an upgrade to Acrobat 5 might resolve some of these problems. Thanks so much for your help so far.

[Aandi_Inston@adobeforums.com]

Interesting that you don't see PressReady as using Distiller. It DOES
use Distiller, but perhaps it is so well locked away that there's no
way to get at it...

Aandi Inston

[Aandi_Inston@adobeforums.com]

It might be that the 740K file size has a constant factor (like an
embedded ICC profile) that wouldn't get any bigger on a bigger file...

Aandi Inston

[pjonesCET@adobeforums.com]

On this card file if you use the adobe pdf print driver click on one of the buttons (last one) and locate "Printer Features" try decreasing the dpi from 1200 to say 300dpi. see if that decreases the size. if so then you need to do this everytime you go to print. if you go from 1200 to 300 might decrease by a factor of 4.